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Alaska had the highest job openings rate in December 2021
February 25, 2022
Alaska had the highest job openings rate in December 2021, at 9.3 percent, followed by Wyoming (8.9 percent) and Vermont (8.6 percent). The national job openings rate was 6.8 percent in December 2021. The job openings rate is the number of job openings divided by the sum of job openings plus employment.
Job openings rates and levels by state, December 2021
State
Rate
Number of openings
National
6.8%
10,925,000
Alabama
6.5
144,000
Alaska
9.3
32,000
Arizona
6.8
218,000
Arkansas
6.3
87,000
California
6.6
1,192,000
Colorado
7.6
228,000
Connecticut
6.4
110,000
Delaware
6.2
30,000
District of Columbia
4.9
39,000
Florida
6.8
650,000
Georgia
8.0
403,000
Hawaii
8.5
54,000
Idaho
7.4
63,000
Illinois
6.3
398,000
Indiana
7.6
255,000
Iowa
7.2
120,000
Kansas
6.4
95,000
Kentucky
7.4
151,000
Louisiana
6.8
137,000
Maine
7.5
50,000
Maryland
7.3
214,000
Massachusetts
7.0
269,000
Michigan
7.0
321,000
Minnesota
7.2
223,000
Mississippi
6.8
84,000
Missouri
7.3
225,000
Montana
8.3
44,000
Nebraska
6.7
73,000
Nevada
7.1
105,000
New Hampshire
8.6
63,000
New Jersey
7.1
309,000
New Mexico
6.9
61,000
New York
6.1
588,000
North Carolina
7.6
377,000
North Dakota
7.1
32,000
Ohio
7.0
404,000
Oklahoma
6.7
119,000
Oregon
7.2
148,000
Pennsylvania
7.9
495,000
Rhode Island
7.3
38,000
South Carolina
7.8
182,000
South Dakota
6.9
32,000
Tennessee
6.7
223,000
Texas
6.4
886,000
Utah
7.0
122,000
Vermont
8.6
28,000
Virginia
7.0
298,000
Washington
5.9
219,000
West Virginia
7.3
55,000
Wisconsin
6.6
204,000
Wyoming
8.9
27,000
The number of job openings increased in 9 states and decreased in 6 states in December. The largest increases occurred in Pennsylvania (+73,000), New Jersey (+29,000), and Minnesota (+28,000). The largest decreases in the job openings level occurred in New York (−52,000), Michigan (−24,000), and Ohio (−22,000). Nationally, the number of job openings was little changed.
Alaska also had the highest rate of hires in December 2021 at 5.8 percent, followed by South Carolina (5.3 percent) and Georgia (5.1 percent). The national hires rate was 4.2 percent for December. The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
United States Department of Labor
